Wolds Way – Sounds like a plan
I had been planning on using this as a 3 day blitz to get myself ready for the TGO. I was on Facebook yesterday minding my own business when an old friend Mr Blister contacts me out of the blue asking me i want to join him on a 80 mile walk. It turns out that fate had meant we were both planning for the same trip.
Anyway a thread was started on the Peaceful Hiker to get the ball rolling and Pete Crawford flings his name into the pot. Looks like we have an expedition task force in the making…..!!
So within minutes i have the guide books out and memory map open to test distances. An hour later and i have a rough idea for a plan. Here it is…..
Day 1
Hessle to Shiptonthorpe 25 miles
Robeanne House
Day 2
Shiptonthorpe to Huggate 12miles
The Wolds Inn
Day 3
Huggate to West Heslerton 18 miles (+1)
The Snooty Fox Inn
Day 4
West Heslerton to Filey Brigg 23 miles
Filey Brigg Caravan and country Park
Optional Extra day for Mr Blister – Hessle to North Cave 13.5 miles
The problem we have is Robeanne House is the first campsite on the trail and wild camping i would of thought was a total no go on this trip. Looking at cheap accommodation the large village of North Cave has Albion House B&B at £25 per night, its a mile and half off the trail at the end of day 1, meaning the total first days walk would be a nice 13 1/2 mile. I would stick to the 4 day route and meet up at Robeanna House at the end of day 2.
TGO Kit – Rucksack
I have been looking about on the internet just out of interest with regards to lightweight rucksacks and the Osprey packs seem to pretty popular. The Aether 60 would probably suit me best and comes in at 1870g fully featured.
There are lighter packs out there but they tend to come with a compromise. The OMM Villain 45+10 RL looked very handy and light at 1160g which can be stripped down to 710g but this requires leaving behind a few bits that would leave you feeling uncomfortable.
Lightweight is great but not as a compromise, so am I left pondering the need for a new pack.
I bought a North Face Prophet 65L pack a few years ago with the knowledge that it could take me anywhere I ever dreamed of, in fact I saw it on an Everest summit picture a few months ago. But this whole light weight ethos had blinded me and so I was tempted to go open my wallet again on a backpack.
Taking a look back on my blog I spotted my 4 key features which I vowed to follow when I started this whole outdoor thing on mine, so it seems I will be taking my trusty Prophet pack across Scotland safe in the knowledge that I saved £130 quid which could buy me a flight back to Morocco to play with some real mountains.
By the way the Prophet is the greatest pack ever made and comes fully fitted with more features than a BMW 7 series and weighs in at a tender 1870g. Anyone who says different can go whistle (oh yeah its got a whistle on the chest strap).
The money saved on a backpack could take me back here !!!
TGO Challenge 2010
The FC Hikers are proud to announce we have been accepted into the 2010 TGO Challenge that will be taking place between the dates of 14-28 May 2010.
The team of 4 consists of myself, titanium dude, buzzingirly and Peter Crawford. Route planning has already started and memory map will be getting used and abused over the next few months as we pick out a route from the West coast of Scotland to the East coast.
Hadrians Wall Kit List
Clothes ukmase
- Hiking socks x2, sport socks x1
- Underwear
- Montane Jetstream wind breaker
- Haglofs Oz jacket
- NF Base layer
- T-shirt
- NF Convertible trousers
- Fleece bottoms/top
- NF Baseball cap
- NF Hedgehog mids
- Spare shoelaces
- Regatta waterproof over trousers
Cook set
- Jetboil will pan support and can support
- Jetboil cutlery
- Alpkit Ti-cutlery
- Coleman C250 gas canister
- Jetboil frying pan
- Cut down scourer pad
- Washing up liquid (tiny bottle)
Tent / Sleeping
- NF Tadpole 23 DL, outer tent in waterproof stuff sack
- Alpkit Wee-airic sleeping mat x2
- Alpkit Pipedream 400 sleeping bag
- Aztec Tec-lite 700 sleeping bag
- Survival bag
Food/Drink
- 1L Sigg bottle
- 3L Platypus
- 1.5L Camlebak
- 4 Reiter travellunch (125g each)
- Bottle ready made pancake mix
Wash kit
- Tooth brush
- Shampoo –own small bottle
- Tooth paste
- Wet wipes
- Soap –own small bottle
- Washing powder
- Tissues
Other items
- Silva 4 compass
- 6 individual memory map strip print outs
- Guide book
- Ipod (charger)
- Mobile phonex2(charger)
- Hadrian’s Wall passport
- Notebook+pen
- Camera+charger
- Tent torch
- Tikka XP head torch
- Lighter
- First aid kit
I will be carrying everything in a NF Prophet 65L rucksack with the exception of the clothes which Keso is carrying in an Alpkit Gourdon 25L. The only worry i have is the sleep system, Keso will be okay as she has the Pipedream 400, but i am using the Aztec tec-lite which gets rather chilly even in summer, so i have packed some thermals which should add enough heat.
The tent, boots and waterproofs have all been reproofed and i am happy with gear selection. Fingers crossed for the weather.
Training Day 15
6 miles jogging under the belt today, bumped into my old next door neighbour on my travels who made me realise I could up the pace a bit more. I also got covered in hundreds of tiny black flies who seem to be everywhere today.
Popped to Go Outdoors and picked up some final kit for the Hadrians Wall which starts next week. Here’s a quick run down
- North Face Paramount convertible pants (For Keso)
- NF Banff Tee-e (For Keso)
- Helly Hansen LS Crew – Base layer (For Keso)
- 4 Dried Meals
- Nikiwax tent reproof-er – Totally overpriced, think i will avoid this from now on.
Not a bad shop considering i got all this and a few other bits for less than 100 notes. We will see how the bits of kit get on after 7 days on the trail.
The backpacks are ready and feeling light-ish….well feather weight compared to what i carried on the Cleveland Way last year. i will post up a kit list and pack weight later when i get chance, i feel the need now PTC has added me on Twitter 🙂
Hadrians Wall cont..planning
The bed and breakfast idea has been sacked off as i think it goes against what i count as a completion of a National Trail, this would be
- Camping 75% of the way carrying all your kit
- Doing the trail in one go without a rest day
- Sticking to the entire trail from start to finish
We have however at the advice of Titanium Dude kept one of the bookings at the half way point. Memory map has been loaded with the GPS details and the guide book has been read. My kit is ready, but we need to make a few additions to get Leanne up to standard. I am still debating wether to get a new 65L waterproof pack from Alpkit for this trip, ohh the choices !!!
Hadrians Wall
The planning for this route has been underway for a month now and things are starting to take shape. I will be doing this in the back end of August 09 with my fiancee. We are planning on a nice easy 6 day walk averaging 15 miles per day.
The plan is to go East to West, the thinking behind this was that we didn’t want to end the walk in an industrial landscape. We have decided to use mainly bunkhouses for the trip with it being the other half’s first big walking trip. The accommodation plan is all but done and just needs the bookings confirmed.
I have sourced the maps from my local libary along with this guide book which had made planning the trip much easier.
One thing i would like to do in this trip would be to update my blog with a daily report. I have found a new laptop PC which is tiny but very expensive. I am still trying to justify the price tag though.
Next thing to plan is the kit list and cash for the trip.
Kundsleden – The Kings Trail
After visiting Sweden a few years ago and seeing the Ice hotel and the beautiful area surrounding it, i swore i would return again in the summer season to see the other side of the coin. I spotted this trail while searching through the web…..Kungsleden – Walking The Kings Trail
It is found in many peoples top 10 hikes in the world and i can see why. The trail is 270 miles long but its the Northern most section i am interested in between Abisko and Kebnekaise. One travel company describes it as follows…
Sweden’s ‘King’s Trail’ or ‘Kungsleden’ is one of Europe’s wildest and most remote treks.It is situated 200 kilometres/ 130 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland. In summer, the approach to Kebnekaise (2117m / 6945ft) Sweden’s highest mountain, crosses an unspoiled land of flower-carpeted birch forest and spectacular glacial valleys where the indigenous Sami people tend their herds of reindeer. Starting out alongside the Abisko River, we trek to the wonderful viewpoint of the T’tja Pass (1100m /3608ft) and continue via the impressive waterfalls of the Tj’ktajakka Valley. Carrying light backpacks, we overnight at a series of comfortable mountain huts, some of which have saunas to help soothe the limbs after a day’s walking. Upon reaching the Kebnekaise Mountain Station, we have time for a glacier trek and for the ascent to the exposed and snowy summit of Sweden’s highest peak. Superb trekking and the unforgettable experience of daylight at midnight makes this a unique adventure holiday.
I dont know when i want to do this, but i have started the intial fact finding and pricing. More to come on this ongoing plan.
UKmase 